Secession is a serious issue for rural Coloradans

Weld County folks feel disconnected from Denver

FIRESTONE -- September's floodwaters did a lot of damage, but they didn't wash away some Weld County residents' resolve to create a new state.

Firestone Mayor Chad Auer said last week that the flood had no effect on the initiative seeking to create the country's 51st state from 10 counties in northeastern Colorado.

"We would never expect anyone from Denver to help," Auer said. "We just took care of business."

In early June, Weld County commissioners proposed the idea of secession question on the November ballot.

Even though a state hasn't separated from another since 1863, when West Virginia broke away from Virginia after Virginia seceded from the Union to join the Confederacy, the idea quickly took hold.

In July, about 75 people met with Weld County commissioners at the Southwest Weld Complex near Firestone, most of them supporting the proposal.

Residents of mostly rural Weld County cited many reasons they no longer wanted to be governed by a Denver-based Legislature. Gun control measures, oil and gas drilling regulation and a requirement for rural energy cooperatives to use more environmentally friendly sources were among the top.

"The general pulse of the community is folks are fairly frustrated with how things are going in the Legislature in Denver," Auer said.

The secession movement isn't a knee-jerk reaction, though.

"This isn't just a bunch of people feeling like the last legislative session didn't go our way," Auer said. "It's bigger than that."

While both Republicans and Democrats might view the 2013 session as aggressive, he said, "the majority of people in Firestone feel it was aggressive in a negative way."

Longmont City Councilman Brian Bagley, who grew up in Greeley, said he is curious to see what happens with the proposal.

"I think they have some legitimate concerns," Bagley said. "It's an interesting political novelty."

Even in Greeley, though, he's not hearing optimistic predictions.

"No one seems to be thinking it will really happen," Bagley said.

Auer agrees that a successful secession is a long shot.

The question on the county ballots encourages officials to pursue the creation of a 51st state, but the Colorado Legislature and the state's voters would have to approve the measure as well -- just to move it to Congress.

He doesn't see Congress approving a new state that likely would send three Republicans -- two senators and a representative -- to Washington, D.C., he said.

"The hurdles in the process are huge," Auer said.

Breaking away

Ballot question: Shall the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, in concert with the county commissioners of other Colorado counties, pursue those counties becoming the 51st state of the United States of America?

Counties with a secession question on their ballots: Weld, Logan, Sedgwick, Philips, Yuma, Elbert, Lincoln, Cheyenne and Moffat (in northwestern Colorado); it's not clear if the issue is on the ballot in Washington and Kit Carson counties.